I haven't talked about school in a while, and so I'll give an update on that.
What's left: I have just two undergraduate classes left this semester, and because I hadn't taken my senior assessment class, I couldn't go ahead and start on my internship (argh). So I was granted permission by the powers that be to take two graduate-level classes prior to my graduation. My undergraduate classes are my senior exit class and a healthcare finance class, which I find particularly interesting, but challenging.
The one grad class is a health law class with the same professor I had last semester, and so he is allowing me (and two others) to do an independent study. Our independent study, as it turns out, is to read some actual cases and to then write papers about the cases. So far, we've only had to do three of them, and he is aiming for five total. Which is Perfect!!!
The other one is a terrible class. The textbook is one of the most unfriendly reads I have ever had, and the $100 I paid for the book has done me NO GOOD at all. I won't color this post with my feelings for this class, for it would probably have to be censored. But to summarize it, the class consists of ONE VERY LARGE GROUP PROJECT, in which we must produce ONE academic paper and ONE poster summarizing the paper. It will be presented at some healthcare conference by our professor who just beams at us anew every week and says he is sure we are doing a really good job. There are about twenty students in the class, and so you can imagine how frustrating this is. "It's about the process," he loves to say.
I enjoy my finance class with Dr. W. My respect for him has increased tenfold this semester. The man is brilliant, and the things he teaches are actually relevant. I have just finished my term project for this class (a financial analysis of a pharmaceutical company), and it is an enormous relief to me to have it finished. Now I just have to present it in class.
What's coming up: So I was going to walk the line in May with all my good friends, go to Europe for three weeks with my siblings and first cousin, then come back and do my internship the rest of the summer. That plan still stands except that I will postpone walking the line until December. The reason for doing so is a little complicated, but essentially, if I wait until AFTER my internship to walk, I will be recognized as a "Scholar of the College," whatever the significance of that is, but better than that, I will be "invited" to apply for an award that has monies attached (unfortunately, no guarantees come with the invitation, but there is that chance…). So since I'll be working for FREE for my internship this summer (!?!), I decided I shall defer my graduation until December. That is when Sharon will be finished anyway, and so for the benefit of our poor family who is overcome with graduations to attend, it just makes sense to do it at the same time.
But in the meantime, I will continue working on my masters in the fall, and by the time I "graduate" with my Bachelor's, I will already have 19 hours earned toward my Masters. How nice is that? I will be on track to graduate with my master's exactly one year later, December, 2009.
My Internship: Barring the fact that I will get absolutely zero income from my internship, I am really looking forward to it. I decided to stay at our local hospital to do the internship primarily because at least I will be saving about $300 in gas. It is 5 minutes away from my house. I have gone to see my preceptor already and gotten a tour of the hospital. They've just added a brand-new wing, and I will get my own office, which they are remodeling as we speak (new carpet, new desk, new paint, new computer). That, to me, is very exciting. I have to do "rotations" through all the hospital departments, but I also have to do a term project. My preceptor emailed about two weeks ago and told me that my term project will likely be working with one of their accountants and helping her to develop a cost-accounting system for the hospital. How amazing is that???
